ACCT 4100 Chapter 3 test 1
Systems documentation techniques
Terms
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- Prepare and use data flow diagrams to understand, evaluate, and document information systems.
- ...
- Prepare and use flowcharts to understand, evaluate and document information systems.
- ...
- Documentation
- Encompasses the narratives flowcharts, diagrams and other written materials that explain how a system works.
- _______ covers the who, what, when , where why and how of data entry, processing, storage, information output, system controls.
- Documentation
- Narrative description
- Written step-by-step explanation of system components and interactions.
- 2 common systems documentation tools
- 1. Data flow diagrams 2. Flowcharts
- 3 reasons documentation tools are important
- 1. Read documentation 2. Evaluate internal control systems documentation to identify strengths and weaknesses and recommend improvements 3. Prepare internal control documentation
- 4 documentation tools
- 1. Data flow diagram 2. Document flowchart 3. System flowchart 4. Program flowchart
- Data flow diagram
- A graphical description of data sources, flows, processes, storage and destinations.
- Document flowchart
- A graphical description of the flow of documents and information between departments and areas of responsibility.
- Systems flowchart
- A graphical description of the relationship among the input processing, and output on an information system.
- Program flowchart
- A graphical description of the sequence of logical operations a computer performs as it executes a program
- An advantage of flowcharts
- such graphic portrayals more readily reveal weaknesses and strengths
- Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002
- Requires internal control report in public company annual reports that (1) states that management is responsible for establishing and maintaining an adequate internal structure. (2) Assess the effectiveness of the company's internal controls. (3) That a company's auditor must evaluate management's assessment of the company's internal control structures and attest to its accuracy.
- Documentation tools are also used extensively in what?
- Systems development process
- What is used more, flowcharts or DFDs?
- Flowcharts
- What makes documentation easier to prepare and revise?
- When a software package is used
- DFD
- Graphically describes the flow of data within an organization
- 4 basic elements a DFD uses
- 1. Data sources and destinations 2. Data flows 3. Transformation processes 4. Data stores
- Data source and data destination
- Entities that send or receive data that the system uses or produces.
- True or false: An entity can be both a source and a destination
- True
- How do you represent data sources and destinations in DFD?
- Squares
- How do you represent data flows in a DFD?
- Arrows
- How do you represent transformation processes in a DFD?
- Circles
- How do you represent data stores in a DFD?
- Two lines
- Data destinations are also referred to as what?
- Data sinks
- Data flows
- The movement of data among processes, stores, sources and destinations
- Transformation processes
- The processes that transform data from inputs to outputs
- Data stores
- The storage of data is represented by two horizontal lines.
- If 2 or more data flows move together, a _____ is used.
- single line
- If the data flow separately ________ is used
- Two lines
- Processes
- Represent the transformation of data
- Data store
- A repository of data
- True or false; DFDs show the physical storage medium such as a server or paper.
- False
- What is written inside lines of data stores?
- Name of the file
- DFDs are subdivided into successively ________ levels to provide ________ amounts of detail.
- Lower; increasing
- Context diagram
- Highest level DFD that provides the reader with a summary-level view of a system
- 5 data processing activities
- 1. Updating the employee/payroll master file 2. Handling employee compensation 3. Generating management reports 4. Paying taxes 5. Posting entries to the general ledger
- Flowchart
- An analytical technique used to describe some aspect of an information system in a clear, concise, and logical manner
- How do flow charts depict pictorially the transaction processing procedures a company uses and the flow of data through a system?
- Use a standard set of symbols
- Flowcharts were introduced by industrial engineers in the 1950s as a way of ______ and ______.
- 1.Recording how business processes are performed and documents flow. 2. Analyzing how to improve processes and document flows.
- What recent event made flowcharts become even more important?
- Sarbanes Oxley Act 2002
- 3 advantages of flow charts
- 1. pictorial representation is much easier to understand than a narrative description 2. both the auditor and business owner can use the flowchart as a working tool during discussions 3. Easy way to capture and record data during interviews, and they can easily and quickly be revised.
- 3 disadvantages of flowcharts
- 1. Some people don't like or understand them 2. Many are poorly drawn and therefore aren't as helpful as they should be 3. Time consuming to prepare if not experienced
- How were early flow charts drawn?
- Using a flowcharting template, a piece of hard, flexible plastic or which symbols have been die cut.
- How are most flowcharts drawn now?
- Using a software program such as Visio.
- 4 categories of flowchart symbols
- 1. Input/output symbols 2. Processing symbols 3. storage symbols 4. Flow and miscellaneous symbols
- Input/Output symbols
- Represent devices or media that provide input to or record output from processing operations.
- Processing symbols
- Show what types of devices are used to process data or indicate when processing is performed manually
- Flow and miscellaneous symbols
- Indicate the flow of data, where flowcharts begin or end, where decisions are made, and when they add explanation notes to flowcharts.
- Input/output symbols
- -Document -Multiple copies of one document -Input/output; journal/ledger -Display -Online keying -Terminal or personal computer -Transmittal tape
- Processing symbols
- -Computer processing -Manual operation -Auxilliary operation -Offline keying
- Storage symbols
- -Magnetic disk/drive -Magnetic tape -File
- Flow and miscellaneous symbols
- -Document or processing flow -Data/information flow -Communication link -On page connector - Off page connector -Terminal -Decision -Annotation
- Document flowchart
- Illustrates the flow of documents and information among areas of responsibility within an organization
- Internal control flowchart
- Document flowcharts that describe and evaluate internal controls
- What do internal control flowcharts do?
- They reveal system weaknesses and inefficiencies, such as adequate communication flows, or unnecessary complexity in document flows
- System flowcharts
- Depict the relationships among system input, processing and output
- How does a systems flowchart begin?
- By identifying system inputs and origins
- After you identify system inputs the next step is
- Processing performed on the data.